Blanket Blues
by carlotta1924
Summary: Neal does something with Emma's precious baby blanket while Emma was distracted by phone calls. Sibling drama ensues. Snow and David stand by them, leading to some family fluff in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

"Good job, Neal!" Emma praised her four-year-old brother when he placed another colourful handprint on one of her old T-shirts. They were sitting on the living room floor that is covered with a drop cloth as they painted, surrounded by some of Neal's paints and a box that contained other shirts Emma had gathered for them to paint on.

Neal beamed. "Do you think mommy will like it?" he asked.

Emma ruffled her little brother's hair. "I'm positive."

Emma and Neal were having an afternoon all to themselves while their parents attended to Storybrooke matters at the town hall. Normally Emma attended such meetings with David and Snow, but she opted out this time as her presence was not required. She was glad to be able to spend some time with her brother today.

Since Neal was on a painting streak lately, Emma thought of making their mom and dad a couple of handprint shirts. She and Neal were painting on their second shirt when Emma's phone rang. It was Regina, asking Emma for assistance in creating a potion.

"I'd like to do that, but I'm watching Neal right now," Emma told Regina. "My parents are due back any minute now anyway so if it's okay I can drop by later to help you with that potion. Although I must say, it's strange that you are asking me to do so. I think I should be recording this conversation."

"Ha-ha, very funny, Emma." Regina replied wryly. "Okay, just let me know when you're good to go."

"Okay I will. Bye." Emma hung up. She was about to turn to her brother and see what he's up to when her phone rang again. Emma was distracted for a good thirty minutes by an old Storybrooke resident complaining nonstop about nosey neighbours poking into his business. When she finally put her phone down, she noticed Neal was waiting for her and was clutching something tightly behind his back. He looked excited.

"Look, Emma! I made something for you too!" Neal said, his eyes shining. He brought out the object from behind him.

Emma felt her blood turn to ice.

Neal was holding her baby blanket, or what looked like her precious baby blanket. It was now decorated with splotches of red, green, yellow, and blue paint all over. There were even tiny handprints on it that adorned the swatch of cloth in the corner that bore Emma's name. Emma couldn't stop the words from snapping out from her mouth. Or the way they came out.

"Neal! What have you done?! That's mine!" Emma screamed. She grabbed the blanket from Neal more harshly than she meant to.

"You... you don't like it?" Neal asked, confused. "But I made it for you. I saw it in the box with the T-shirts."

Emma didn't answer. She couldn't speak at all. She mentally kicked herself for being careless with her baby blanket and at the same time felt annoyed with Neal for getting into her things without asking for permission. As for Neal, he only had to take one look at his older sister's face to know that she was not happy with what he did. The thunderous expression in her eyes terrified him so much so that he burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, Emma!" Neal wailed, flinging his arms around Emma's legs.

Emma pried him loose. "You do not touch my things! Do you understand me?" she all but bellowed at him. Tears were starting to make their way down her own cheeks. That made Neal try to make a go for her legs again but she pushed him away, making him cry harder. She ignored him and went straight to the sink to wash the paint off.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Emma kept repeating while desperately trying to scrub off the garish paint. Unfortunately, it had already dried in several places, making it more difficult for her to remove everything. The flood of tears and badly shaking hands weren't helping matters. Finally she just gave up and sank to the floor weeping silently, clutching the ruined blanket to her chest. Neal, who had retreated to a corner in the kitchen, crawled over to Emma and sat down beside her. Even if he still felt afraid of Emma he couldn't bear to see her so sad.

The sight of Neal hiccuping beside her melted Emma's heart. _She_ couldn't bear to see him scared of her, especially since it wasn't really his fault that her baby blanket was tossed in the box along with the shirts. Emma slung an arm over her little brother's shoulder and held him close.

"I'm really sorry, Emma," Neal whispered. "I didn't mean to do it."

Emma placed a gentle kiss on top of Neal's head. "I know you didn't, kid. It's all right. I'm sorry too."

"You are?"

"I shouldn't have yelled at you. Do you forgive me?"

Neal nodded vigorously, throwing his arms around his sister. Emma had to smile in spite of herself. Now that she had calmed down somewhat, she gently set down her blanket on the floor, sat Neal on her lap and wrapped her arms around him. The baby blanket can wait, Emma thought with a twinge to her heart. It had given her a sense of comfort and security all those times that she needed them growing up, but for now she would have to put Neal first. She'll figure out a way to fix her blanket later.

The two then sat in silence for a while, still sniffling from time to time.


	2. Chapter 2

_a/n: so writing this chapter brought me to places i didn't want to be but i finally pinned the scenes down to how i wanted them. ha. my own heart broke a bit too. oh well. this is a mix of snowing, mama snow and daddy charming fluffy scenes. ;) enjoy!_

* * *

As it turned out, it took more hugs and kisses from Emma before Neal was assured that his big sister isn't mad at him anymore for ruining her baby blanket. Emma felt another tug in her heart as she realised what an impact her reaction made on Neal. She never wanted to see the devastated look on his sweet little face ever again.

Emma had finally settled Neal in his bed for a nap before checking on her baby blanket which she had managed to soak in between reassurances. The solution she made to remove the paint was working somehow. She rinsed it out and put it in the dryer. There were still some faint stains on it which the solution didn't get to remove, but Emma let them be, especially the tiny handprints beside her name which she left out to dry completely.

Snow and David have already arrived by this time and Emma filled them in on what transpired during their absence.

"I'm just sorry that I didn't take care of my baby blanket enough," Emma finished.

"It's your blanket, honey." David said. "Sure it may look different now, but that doesn't change the fact that it was something you held onto all those years we weren't there for you. And now, you've got another reminder on it that there's somebody else who loves you as much as your mom and I do."

"Yeah, I know that now." Emma hung her head. "It's just that when I saw it the first time, all I could think about was that Neal had no business getting into my stuff. I just snapped at him like that and I scared him so much. The light just went out of his eyes. Oh, it's even worse than seeing my blanket dipped in paint. I messed up. We were having such a good time making those shirts for you and all, and then..." She hid her face in her hands.

Snow took Emma in her arms. "Oh, sweetie, please don't beat yourself up over it. I'm sure Neal has forgiven you, hasn't he?"

"Yeah." Emma mumbled into her mom's shoulder.

"And your baby blanket, were you able to remove the stains?"

"Not all, but I don't care anymore. I'll leave them there to remind me what an ass I was to my sweet baby brother."

"No, don't say that, Emma," Snow said reproachfully. "Think of it otherwise, that it was made with love."

"And that's what makes it harder for me to wrap my head around what I did to him." Emma eased back. "To be honest I felt like one of those mean foster parents I've had growing up. If I could just turn back the clock, I would." She buried her face in Snow's shoulder again.

"Oh, baby..." Snow and David were at a loss for words. All they could do was wrap Emma in their arms and just let her lean on them for now.

* * *

 _Two days after._

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Snow turned from her book to look at Neal. She raised an eyebrow at the shirt in Neal's hands. "What are you doing with Emma's old t-shirt?"

"I want to paint on this with my hands. Emma didn't like what I did on her blankie so maybe she will like this one," Neal said. "I got this from the box. Can you help me, please?"

"Oh, baby," Snow's heart broke at her son's words. "Of course I will. But you must remember this always, Neal. Emma will never stay mad at you forever for something that you did. She loves you as much as daddy and I do. Okay?"

"Okay, mommy." Neal nodded. "That's what she told me too. But I don't want her to feel bad anymore so I want to make another painting for her here."

"Will doing this also make you happy?" Snow asked carefully.

Neal's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

Snow smiled. "So are you ready to have some fun?"

"Yeah!" Neal jumped up and down.

"Then let's paint!" Snow led her son to the living room.

Unknown to the two at home, Emma was also busy with a project of a similar tone down at the station. It was a slow day, so David and Emma were just at their desks doing paperwork. Or at least David was. Emma on the other hand was painting on a small-sized t-shirt. The palms and fingers of both of her hands were coated with different colours of paint which she pressed carefully on the shirtfront. Her left cheek and chin were smudged with red paint.

"Knock-knock."

"Come in!" Emma didn't look up from what she was doing.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Em." David sat on the edge of Emma's desk. "Can't you just play along?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange what?"

"Emma!"

"Okay, orange _who_?" Emma exhaled dramatically.

"Orange you gonna tell me why my daughter is having an arts and crafts session here at the station?" David looked at Emma pointedly.

Emma mirrored David's look. "You gotta lay off the corny jokes, dad. It's very un-Charming of you. Ha! See what I did there?" she waved her paint-coated hands at David. "Oops! Sorry wet paint." She carefully smoothed out the small t-shirt on her desk. "I did all my paperwork already, honest. I've got some time so I figured I'll just do this here so Neal won't see it. Don't worry, I'll clean up after this, I'm almost done anyway."

David chuckled at his daughter's rambling. "Okay, I got it." He leaned over to kiss the top of Emma's head. "I think what you're doing is sweet. I'm sure Neal will love that."

Emma looked up at her dad. "I hope so. It's my way of making it up to him. I still cringe whenever I remember what I did. What if he stays afraid of me forever? I can't have him be like that. He's the only sibling I've got."

"You're overthinking this, Emma. It's been what, two, three days? Neal is just four, but he already knows when he's done something wrong and is sorry for it."

"Yeah..."

"So let's have some hot cocoa with cinnamon delivered from Granny's, yes?"

"Yeah!" Emma grinned widely.

"Great. Let's get you cleaned up first. Don't want anybody seeing my girl looking like she'd had a run-in with Leatherface." David gently wiped the smudges off Emma's cheek and chin with his handkerchief.

* * *

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

_a/n: some scenes attempted to run away again but i managed to rein them in. david here is full of bright ideas i think. lol. last chapter, but more charming family goodness up ahead. enjoy!_

* * *

"Emmaemmaemmaemmaemmaemma!" Neal yelled when Emma and David came home. He jumped in Emma's outstretched arms.

"Hey, what's up, kid?" Emma asked, giving Neal a kiss on both cheeks.

"I have a surprise for you! Come on!" Neal excitedly pulled his sister into the living room.

"Oh-kay..." Emma shared a look with Snow and David.

Snow smiled. "You heard your brother. Just go."

Neal led Emma to the couch and made her sit down. "Wait here, Em," he instructed her and then skipped to the kitchen.

Emma was now bursting with curiosity. But she didn't have to wait long as Neal ran back in almost immediately. He brandished the shirt he made for Emma near her face. The yellow t-shirt in his hands was decorated with colourful hand prints shaped into a square with the words "Best Sister In The World" in it.

"Do you like it?" Neal asked hopefully. "Mommy helped me!"

Surprised and touched, Emma had to swallow the lump in her throat. "I love it, Neal. Thank you!" she wrapped Neal in a bear hug. Then she eased back, grinning at him as mysteriously as she could through glistening eyes.

"You know what little guy, I also have a surprise for you. One of my own would be too big for you, but here... " Emma took out the shirt she made for Neal and unfolded it. "I made this for the world's best little brother." She pointed to each word inside the heart hand prints so Neal would know what they said.

Neal's eyes grew big as saucers. "Wow! This is for me?"

"Yup! Let's see how it looks on you." Emma helped her brother put on the shirt. "Wow. Who's the handsome boy?"

"Me!" Neal shouted gleefully. "Thank you, Emma! This is awesome!" He and his sister shared another hug.

Snow wiped her eyes as she and David gazed lovingly at their children. "Well, I love the shirts they made for us too. Don't we have the sweetest kids, David?"

"That we do, Snow." David slung an arm around his wife. He then cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone. "Okay, now that we all have shirts that look the practically the same, how about we wear them and go on a picnic tomorrow?" he asked enthusiastically. He was met with cheers of approval from his wife and son. His daughter was another matter however. She was gawking at him like he suggested they eat spider pies for dinner.

"Oh hell, no!" Emma griped.

"Language!" Snow and David scolded at the same time.

"Sorry. But no way! That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard." Emma shook her head vigorously. "Nuh-uh! I'm not going outside wearing the same thing as you guys!"

"Oh come on, Em, it'll be fun!" Snow coaxed. "I can't wait to wear my "World's Best Mom" shirt!"

"And I want everyone to know that I'm the greatest dad in the world!" David added.

"You've got to be kidding me." Emma muttered.

"Please?" This came from Neal, who turned on his puppy-dog eyes.

Cornered, Emma could only stare aghast at her eager family. "Ohh, boy."

Good thing she has an assortment of jackets to choose from. And luckily for her, Snow and David just raised their eyebrows the next day when she came down the stairs wearing her favourite red leather jacket all zipped up. She just shrugged nonchalantly and raced Neal out the door. After all, she's still wearing the shirt underneath. There was no rule that she couldn't _hide_ it.

But of course the day got warmer and Emma had no choice but to remove her jacket. She felt self-conscious at first but as the picnic went on, she forgot all about appearances and began to really let loose. She ran around playing tag with Neal, laughing wildly as she jumped out of trees scaring him and then chasing her brother around again.

Snow watched her children warmly as the game unfolded before her. She turned to David. "It's really nice to see Emma relax like that, like she has no care in the world."

David nodded in agreement. "She's lost a lot growing up. It's important that she gets to be like a kid sometimes even if she's in her thirties now."

"Which is why it's kind of hard to see the huge age gap between her and Neal when she's like this, carefree and having fun." Snow said. "I think it's cute."

"True. Almost as cute as I think you are." David grinned mischievously.

Snow looked at him with heavy lidded eyes. "You think?"

"I know." David kissed Snow passionately. They broke off the kiss when cries of "Eww!" and "Gross!" filled the air.

"Get a room, you guys!" Emma called out.

* * *

Back home, when everyone had settled in for the night, Emma laid back in her bed still in high spirits. The day had turned out to be one of the best she'd ever had with her family. She was actually glad that they made her wear the t-shirt. Emma never felt more connected with her brother and especially her parents than that time. And even if the circumstances that brought it about was less than satisfactory, she was grateful it happened.

Emma smiled as she thumbed the corner of her baby blanket with the colourful hand prints beside her name. Yup, she thought sleepily. Her beloved baby blanket looks real different now. But the history and the love behind it-from Granny knitting it to her being wrapped in it lovingly by her parents; to how her father valiantly fought off the Black Knights to get her through the wardrobe, and to how the blanket gave her comfort time and again before finally meeting her parents-they cannot ever be taken away.

And now? Neal's little hand prints shone brightly against the moonlight. Another reminder that she will never be alone ever again, that she is loved more than she will ever know.

With that comforting thought, Emma held the baby blanket closer to her chest and fell asleep.

 _fin._


End file.
